Bogus pulltab inspector robs Winona bar

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October 12, 2012 - 6:46 PM

BY CURT BROWN
Star Tribune

Winona police are looking for a robber who apparently picks his crime scenes with an eye on word play.

They say a man about 45 years old, weighing about 225 pounds with a scruffy, gray beard and no mustache walked into Cheater’s Bar and Lounge in downtown Winona on Thursday. He said he was a state gambling inspector and was there to review charitable pulltab collections.An employee allowed him to scour the boxes. After a while, the man explained he needed to retrieve something from his vehicle, so he left the tavern.

According to Deputy Police Chief Tom Williams, he never returned. The bar manager took a while before he grew suspicious. Police say he waited five hours before reporting the theft, the amount of which was undisclosed.

No arrests had been made by Friday evening. Anyone with information is asked to call the Winona Police Department at 507- 457-6302 or the Winona branch of Crimestoppers at 507-457-6530.

The thief not only picked his crime scene with a touch of irony. He had bravado as well. The police station is located on the same Third Street as Cheater’s, about six block away.